PASSINGS
Jean Hugel, 84, a French winemaker who helped raise awareness of such Alsatian varietals as Riesling and Gewurztraminer, died June 9 in Ribeauville, France, the Hugel & Fils company announced on its website. The cause was cancer.
The Hugel family has been making wine since 1639 in the region of northeastern France that has alternately been controlled by France and Germany for hundreds of years. By the time Hugel, known as Johnny in the wine business, took the reins of the company with his brothers Georges and Andre in 1948, it had been returned to French hands after the German defeat in World War II.
Hugel helped devise strict rules that govern wine production in the region and set standards for late-harvest wines and those made from selection de grains nobles, grapes affected by the noble rot fungus. He also worked to promote Alsatian wines to consumers around the world.
He was born Sept. 28, 1924, in Riquewihr, France, and received a degree in agronomy from the University of Montpellier. He officially retired in 1997 but stayed active in the business.
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